Taken Hostage Summary

Taken Hostage tells the story of the Iran hostage crisis lasting from November of 1979 to the day Reagan’s inauguration. During this period of time, sixty six Americans were held in captivity by Students Following the Line of Imam after the United States allowed the Shah to undergo medical treatment amidst the Iranian revolution. Americans, after a tough decade of inflation, gas shortages, lack of trust in the government, and the defeat in Vietnam were yet again brought into a situation in which required their complete faith that the Carter administration would save the captives. The hostage crisis was a complete shock to the American people in addition to the heightened tensions because of economic decline, government mistrust, and energy

On the domestic aspect, citizens were beginning a new chapter in which they did not trust the government. Stemming back to Lyndon B Johnson and the Credibility Gap of the Vietnam War, the most recent, most devastating attitude change surrounded the Watergate Scandal and the aftermath. During Nixon’s presidency, he was attempting to bug the Democratic Party headquarters located in the Watergate Hotel. While his henchmen were placing the bugs, they were caught, thus causing a huge controversy amongst Americans. Although Nixon attempted to cover up his ties to the break in, it eventually came out that he ordered it to be done. In 1974, former President Nixon resigned from office and Gerald Ford became the temporary president. One of the first executive orders that Ford did was pardon Nixon for his crimes against the United States. The entire scandal had, “driven a stake into the heart of traditional national politics.” (Farber, 27) This controversy was not only publicized nationally, but severely damaged the American people’s already withering relationship with their government. Foreign policy wise, Nixon, while still in office, began to follow Realpolitik, a policy that allowed him to create relationships with both the Soviet Union and China because it no longer required morality to be a considering factor. This change in foreign policy caused concern for Americans because of the fear of communism.

The energy crisis began after OPEC seized oil production because of the, “anger at the United States for aiding Israel.” (Farber, 22) This caused a mass panic amongst Americans and resulted in long waits to get gas and constant fuel outages. Carter was extremely adamant that Americans reduce their consumption of fuel in order to reduce the extent of the energy crisis, at one point suggesting putting heavy penalizing taxes on non-fuel efficient vehicles. Political journalist Nicholas Lemann recalled, “[The energy crisis was] the automotive equivalent to the Depression’s bank runs.” (Farber,